By CrossRiverWatch Admin
Reports reaching CrossRiverWatch reveal that there is a crisis brewing in Cross River House of Assembly over the demand for the Speaker’s resignation within 72 hours or face impeachment proceedings.
Barely 8 months in office, a few members of the House are accusing the Speaker, John Gaul Lebo of gross misconduct with one pointedly calling on him to resign within 72 hours or members will begin the collection of signatures for his impeachment.
In a letter dated 26 January 2015, titled “Notice of Impeachment” and addressed to John Gaul, the member representing Boki 2 Constituency, Hon. Hilary Bisong who was yet the sole signatory, though according to the letter, he wrote on behalf of his colleagues, accused the Speaker of 13 acts of gross misconduct.
The charges includes alleged gross misconduct, disregard for House rules during plenary, deliberately misinforming the governor about members to get favors, deliberately misinforming members by painting the governor as wicked, refusal to fund the House Services committee and alleged acquisition of landed properties.
When CrossRiverWatch reached out to Hon. Bisong and drew his attention to the fact that only him cannot sign a notice of impeachment and that the law requires 18 of the 25 members of the House to get the Speaker removed, he said he had the support of 17 other members who also want the Speaker to quit.
But attempts by CrossRiverWatch to confirm the claim from other members did not indicate that he enjoyed their support.
Some of those who spoke to our reporter out rightly condemned the move by Hon. Bisong and dissociated themselves from the impeachment plans while others said though there were not happy about the way the Speaker was running the House and have complained and discussed it with Hon. Hilary Bisong, they have not at any time discussed the impeachment of the Speaker.
CrossRiverWatch gathered that the leadership of the PDP which controls the entire House of Assembly in the state, has called for cease fire and are intervening in the matter.
The state Chairman of the Party, Ntufam John Okon is said to have called on all parties to suspend all action and a meeting has been scheduled today to see how the matter can be amicably resolved.
The 8th Assembly is reputed to have passed the highest number of bills in its first 6 months which makes it stand tall among the past assemblies and its peers across the country.
It will be recalled that a section of the lawmakers threatened to boycott all state events as they were not carried along with fingers pointed at the Speaker for excessively hobnobbing the governor.
Leave feedback about this